A pair of 63s lifted Jason Jakovac and Jared Sawada to the championship of the Ka‘anapali Classic/Pro-Pro Team Championship last weekend. The Aloha Section PGA event was played at Royal Ka‘anapali.
Jakovac, Hoakalei’s head pro, and Sawada, a former University of Hawaii golfer who was on the Mackenzie Tour the past two years, combined for 16 birdies. They won $2,200.
Three teams tied for second, two shots back — Alex Ching/Todd Rego (64-64), Cassy Isagawa/Jake Grodzinsky (65-63) and 2018 champs Eliot Gouveia/Eric Dugas (66-62).
There were 33 teams in the $10,000 tournament.
Hilo pair medals at qualifier
Hilo’s Isaiah Kanno and Lacey Uchida earned medalist honors at last week’s PGA Junior Championship qualifier. They will represent Hawaii at next month’s national championship along with runners-up Davis Lee and Yoonjeong Huh.
Kanno was 5 under after the first four holes of the Aloha Section PGA qualifier, which was held in conjunction with the IMG Junior Worlds at Waikoloa Kings’.
The Waiakea senior shot an opening-round 69, then followed up with 71 to finish at 4-under 140 with Lee, who shot 70 both days. Kanno birdied the second playoff hole to become medalist.
Jacob Torres and Noah Koshi both shot 71-70 and were a shot back.
Uchida won the girls’ qualifying spot with rounds of 71-70, finishing two shots ahead of Huh, who opened with a 69. Uchida just finished her sophomore year at Waiakea, taking third at the state high school championship.
The 44th Girls Junior PGA Championship will be July 9-12 in Hartford, Conn., with the boys championship July 30-Aug. 2. Both have 144-player fields with a 36-hole cut.
Top finishers in the younger age divisions, who were not eligible for the national championships, were:
Boys: 11-12—James Fujita (76—148); 13-15—Ethan Jaehn (77—148) and Dysen Park (69—148). Girls: 11-12—Jasmine Wong (83—158).
Local players fall in Palmer Cup
A national team with two Hawaii State Junior Golf Association players fell to the International team in this year’s Arnold Palmer Cup, which ended Sunday in Roland, Ark.
Kaiser alum Malia Nam, who just finished her freshman year at USC, won her singles match on the final day, but the International team claimed 13 of 24 singles points.
The final score was 33.5-26.5 as the Internationals became the first visiting team to win on U.S. soil since 2009. The United States leads the all-time series 12-10-1.
Punahou graduate Mariel Galdiano, who will start her senior year at UCLA in the fall, lost her singles match. Her 4-and-3 victory in Mixed Four Ball on Friday’s opening day helped the U.S. take an 8-4 lead. Nam also won, 1-up, in Four Ball.
Nam tied her Mixed and Afternoon Foursomes matches Saturday.
Kengo Aoshima, an `Iolani graduate born in Japan and playing for Team International, tied his match opening day and won his Afternoon Foursomes match 1-up Saturday. Aoshima plays for Wake Forest.
